


Illusion

by inkandpaperhowl



Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: F/F, Femslash February
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 16:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6122605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkandpaperhowl/pseuds/inkandpaperhowl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It was easy to accept the illusion that they didn’t have worlds to save." femslash feb drabble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Illusion

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for brightnessdavar.tumblr.com
> 
> For a femslash february prompt meme thing; the prompt was "nose kiss."

Shallan rushed through the narrow alleys of the city, breathing heavily, worried her illusion was slipping. But she was too late to stop and fix it--if she wasted any more time, she was going to miss her meeting entirely. And she would regret that. 

She almost fell over, tripping on a crate, and let out a whispered curse, wishing--not for the first time--that her illusions could change more than just her outward appearance. What she wouldn’t give for improved stamina... well, she was working on it, she supposed, and that was the most anyone could ask. She hadn’t thought she’d need to maintain running speeds for so long, being an artist. But of course, that was before she became a Radiant. 

She reached the stairs she was looking for and cursed again as she saw how steep they were, but she started up them without hesitating. It was a long way to the roof of the four-story building, but she made it up without stopping--panting, yes, and ready to collapse on the rooftop and never more again until she relearned how to breathe, but she didn’t stop. 

“About time,” a voice said from the other side of the roof, and Shallan started, struggling to stand upright, wheezing. Vin emerged from her own personal shroud of mists, the tassels of her cloak floating dramatically around her as she moved, and Shallan’s heart--already beating fast from her run--skipped a beat. 

“I’m glad you waited for me,” she managed to say between gasps. 

“I’m glad you didn’t die on your way here,” Vin said wryly, “and I’m not talking about brigands in dark alleyways.” 

“Oh, shut up,” Shallan said, but she was smiling, and her breathing was becoming more natural as she recovered. “We can’t all be running on pewter all the time. Besides, that’s cheating.”

Vin just smiled. Shallan let her illusion drop and stepped forward to meet Vin in the middle of the roof, catching her hand as she waved some mist away from her face. Vin’s smile widened and she took Shallan’s hand in both of hers, running her fingers over the lines in her palm. 

“Tin?” Shallan asked curiously, and Vin nodded sheepishly--she’d memorized every crease in Shallan’s skin, every ridge and swirl of her fingerprints, but she didn’t know how to tell her that. Instead she just leaned forward and threw her arms around Shallan, holding her closely, enveloping her in mist. 

She burned her steel and Pushed them up off the roof, glad it was metal. Shallan let out a yelp of surprise and hugged Vin tighter, turning her head to watch the ground fall away below them. Vin smiled and Pushed a little harder, and they rose faster into the swirling mists hovering over the city. 

“You know, a little warning wouldn’t hurt,” Shallan grumbled, wishing she could glare at Vin, but holding on to her too tightly to make eye contact. 

“If I warned you, you would be prepared, and you wouldn’t hold on to me quite so dearly,” Vin countered, the smile obvious in her voice. Shallan had to admit that she had a point there, but she didn’t have to admit it out loud. 

They rose steadily until the lights of the city below them faded into the mist, and it seemed as if they were the only two people alive in the world. Vin’s cloak fluttered around them, the tassels curling around Shallan’s shoulders as she very carefully eased her grip on Vin so that she could tuck a wayward strand of short hair behind Vin’s ear. 

She left her hand there, gently cupped around Vin’s cheek, and Vin closed her eyes, pressing her face toward the warmth of Shallan’s hand. It was easy, alone in the sky like this, to pretend that they didn’t have responsibilities, to accept the illusion that they didn’t have worlds to save, that they could just stay like this, together, happy, forever. 

Vin opened her eyes and shifted her hold on Shallan so she could free one hand to gently wipe away the tears on Shallan’s cheeks. 

“It’s from the cold,” Shallan whispered automatically. 

“I know,” Vin said, a small smile tugging at her lips. She leaned forward and kissed Shallan’s cheeks where the tears had been, tasting the faint trace of salt. She moved her lips down Shallan’s cheeks, along her jaw. She pulled away for a second before kissing the tip of Shallan’s nose, soft and quick, like the touch of a feather or a drop of rain. 

Shallan smiled. 

Very slowly, they sank back down to the ground, Vin letting her steel fade away and they landed gently on their roof and reluctantly pulled apart. Their hands lingered as they moved away from each other, until just their fingertips touched. And then they were separate beings again, alone in the cold and sighing.


End file.
